Worthwhile sci-fi/action film with McGregor and Johansson

Rating: 7/10 (22 March 2015)

Released in 2005, Michael Bay's "The Island" is a sci-fi/action flick starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson as survivors in a post-apocalyptic society in 2019. Survivors of some sort of great "contamination" regularly pour into the huge facility where the people are strictly monitored by the staff and winners of a lottery are promised to go to a paradisal island. McGregor's character starts to suspect that all is not as it appears and tries to escape with his girlfriend (Johansson).
Bay has a bad reputation for making snazzy blockbuster dreck, like the "Transformers" series. While I'm not a fan of those movies—simply because they don't interest me -- I AM a fan of 2001's "Pearl Harbor," which is ridiculously and undeservedly panned, and – less so – 1998's "Armageddon." So what about "The Island"? It showcases state-of-the-art filmmaking with similarities to the great "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," albeit not as good. The first act is very intriguing as the viewer tries to figure out the nature of the enclosed society and the second act kicks into overdrive with some outstanding action sequences. Unfortunately, the third act isn't able to keep up the dynamic momentum despite a string of intense action sequences. Still, this is definitely a worthwhile sci-fi/action movie.
The film runs 136 minutes and was shot in Nevada, California and Detroit.
GRADE: B